A/N: ok folks, this chapter will get technical, so I suggest you keep the following website open in another tab or window.
wiki/Glossary_of_steam_locomotive_components
We all looked towards the sound. A pair of ponies stood just outside the door. The pony on the left, the one who had chuckled, had a brown coat and a driving wheel cutie mark. The second was appeared to be light gray at first glance, but then I realized that he was covered from head to tail in coal dust, ashes, and soot. He had a pile of coal with a shovel stuck in it for a cutie mark. Dr. Stable was glaring at the two, while a janitor behind them was sweeping up a black trail of dust off the polished, white marble floor. The two paid no attention to the murderous glare in his eye. I could tell he was pissed that he would have to stay late tonight to restore the floor to it's former glory.
Where have I seen those two before? I wondered.
"Ah, Regulator, Mr. Dust, good to see you again! Have you just finished a run?", Celestia asked.
. "Call me Reggie, your Highness. Everypony does. To answer your question, no. Seeing as we were the only two who knew anything about the locomotive that brought this creature here, The company directed us to get it running again. We just finished inspecting out the firebox, ash pan, and inspecting the flues of the thing.
Celestia clearly had no idea what he was talking about.
"Flues are the pipes that carry the hot gasses from the fire through the boiler to heat the water to make steam. The firebox is where the coal or oil is burned, and the ash pan is what it sounds- a place that the ashes from the fire collect." I whispered to her.
"I never thought that you could make parts big enough to construct a monstrosity such as that. We had to make a whole new brush just to clean the flues because ours was too small! The damn thing must be 50 feet long!" Dust supplied
"It's 83.5 feet long, actually, if you include the tender."
We all turned to look at Twilight. She blushed and said "I measured it last night when everyone was gone."
"Hold on, she's able to run!?" I exclaimed.
"No, no" Dust replied. "We just replaced the pipes that had broken in the wreck. We have no idea on how to replace the driver you lost. Plus, the boiler has a large dent where the thing had wedged itself in there. Even if it was able to run, I doubt I could keep steam up. The damn thing probably burns coal like a trainee for the Royal Guard eats during Hell Week."
"It's not that hard to keep it pegged," I say.
"It may be easy for you, but I know I would probably kill myself trying to keep up steam. What is the working pressure anyway?"
"Two hundred and five pounds. I take it from the looks on your faces that you operate at less than that."
"T-t-tw-TWO HUNDRED AND FIVE!? We consider over one forty unsafe! How in the name of all that is holy do you keep the pressure up without killing your firep-I mean fireman?"
Well, for one thing we burn anthracite. Another is that we have a mechanical stoker. Sure, if needed we can hand fire, but that is only when we need more power, or the stoker is down. The schedules we have are very tight. Our regular speed is 60 to 70 miles-per-hour. We can hit triple digits under the right conditions. I myself haven't but I know some guys on the Racetrack who have. Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"That speed is unheard of. The fastest a locomotive has ever gone was 45, and that was down a three percent grade, with only a dynamometer car behind it." Dusty said quietly. "And that was only because a safety valve was tied down. The boiler very nearly exploded. Plus, we don't have a "mechanical stoker." It's all done by hoof."
"That was the scariest ride of my life," Reggie said. "I was the firepony on that run, and I could barely keep from falling against the backhead."
"Well, if you cast a new driver, I can treat you all to mile a minute speeds. Can you do it?"
Author's Note:
Pegged is when the steam pressure is constant. Working pressure is the amount of steam that the locomotive operates under normally. (Interesting fact, If you are going to restore a steamer, to get the boiler certified you must make a hydrostatic test. The test is to bring the boiler up to 125% working pressure, to ensure that there are no leaks.) I am not sure if the K4's burned anthracite, but I look at pictures and they seem to have a Wooten firebox. The Racetrack that I mentioned is the Chicago-Ft. Wayne division. I was known for it's fast running. (The Norfolk &Western's J Class 4-8-4 went over 110 mph while on loan with a 15 car, 1050 ton train. It was said that the only limit to the J's speed was the engineer's nerves. It is hard to dispute that with the test, because the engineer had plenty more throttle, but got cold feet. In my personal opinion, if any locomotive could break the Mallard's record, it would be a J. The only surviving one is being considered for restoration, so it could happen!)A dynamometer car judges the power of a locomotive. The backhead is the part of the boiler with all the gauges and such. Also- CLIFFHANGER!